English Premier League
Morgan Bolton|Published
COMMENT
There was a time when no Hollywood studio would touch actor Robert Downey Jr, so severe had his substance addiction and legal troubles become in the late 1990s.
While there is no way to quantify his actual intake of drugs and alcohol, he once famously stated in court: “It's like I've got a shotgun in my mouth with my finger on the trigger, and I like the taste of the gun metal.”
Arrested repeatedly for possession of heroin, cocaine and crack, Downey spent a tumultuous period between 1996 and 2003 cycling through jail and court-ordered rehab. Realising the destructive path he was on — and with the crucial support of his now-wife, Susan Levin — Downey entered treatment and has been sober since 2003.
His redemption arc culminated in his casting as Tony Stark in 2008’s Iron Man. Since then, his films have grossed billions worldwide. Downey’s transformation from Hollywood outcast to global icon is a powerful story of personal triumph.
Everyone knows his journey. We can accept his shortcomings, and I would argue we’ve moved on to accept him for who he was and who he is today. There is a satisfying narrative behind his tale: from drug-fuelled addict to role model.
He has earned his forgiveness, not because he denied his faults and failures, but because he looked inward, accepted them and then did his best to make himself better.
Which brings me to Manchester City.
This past weekend, they crushed Liverpool 3-0 at a hostile Anfield, all while the findings of an independent commission into their financial conduct hung over them. The commission found City guilty of serious breaches of the English Premier League’s financial rules over nine seasons, as well as the majority of charges relating to their failure to cooperate with the league’s investigation.
Despite that cloud hanging over them, it was a ruthless display by the Citizens, much to the chagrin of the hosts. Thereafter, they took a victory lap, adding insult to injury to the Kop.
Somehow, City have presented themselves as the victims of their own improprieties, which amounts to a staggering case of state-sponsored cheating. For some reason, they seem to think they are on a redemption tour. It's rather tone-deaf all things considered.
They believe they are under siege for wrongs committed against them. They appear to want to move on as though they are in their post-2003 Downey-era, when they are still mired in the thick of their legal and moral troubles.
The entire procession surrounding Sunday’s match felt shambolic. It left the entire spectacle hollow.
City are entitled to celebrate a 3-0 victory at Anfield, but the wider context is impossible to ignore. When a club can continue to compete at the highest level while serious findings against them await, questions inevitably arise about the credibility of the league itself.
Why has no sanction been announced? Why are we waiting until at least January for their appeal to be heard?
Why are we entertaining such a prolonged absence of consequences?
What are clubs playing for if the rules they are expected to abide by can be breached on such a scale without any immediate sporting repercussions?
City, who face defending Uefa Champions League winners PSG on Wednesday night, have appealed the commission’s findings, and the process must be allowed to run its course. But the appeal does not make the questions surrounding their conduct any less pressing. It remains jarring to witness their nonchalant, business-as-usual attitude when there are such serious findings against them.
If Robert Downey Jr’s story teaches us anything, it is that redemption is not simply a matter of surviving the scandal, carrying on regardless and waiting for the public to move on. It requires an acknowledgement of past wrongs and a willingness to confront their consequences.
Manchester City have every right to contest the findings against them. But they cannot reasonably expect football to forget the questions hanging over their achievements simply because they continue to win.